Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) communication between different VoIP devices have traditionally supported narrowband communications. For example, the G.711 standard, which is an ITU-T standard primarily used in telephony, has been used to conduct narrowband communications. Recently, more and more service providers have been requiring broadband channels in VoIP devices to support higher quality service in connecting phone calls. However, such requirement could not be efficiently met because a mechanism for efficiently assigning broadband connections among multiple telephone devices connected to a VoIP device has not been made available.
In explaining the background of the foregoing deficiency, a VoIP device such as an analog terminal adaptor (ATA), a multimedia terminal adaptor (MTA), an embedded MTA (EMTA), etc., enables users to make and receive telephone calls via a VoIP network such as the Internet by connecting a portable VoIP device to the VoIP network, where the VoIP device operates as an interface between a telephone and a VoIP network. As to the foregoing types of VoIP devices, an EMTA is a combination of a modem and an MTA. The term “MTA” refers to a VoIP device and is used interchangeably with an ATA. As referred to in this disclosure, a modem may be any reasonably suitable modem for receiving data such as a cable modem, digital subscriber line (DSL) modem, etc.
In describing the narrowband and the wideband of frequencies for analog audio signals more specifically, when a VoIP device converts analog audio signals from a telephone to data packets, the input audio signals may have either a narrowband of frequencies or a wideband of frequencies. As referred to in this disclosure and usually in telephony, analog audio signals are considered to have the narrowband of frequencies, if the analog audio signals does not have frequency components outside a range of 200 Hz to 3.4 kHz. On the other hand, analog audio signals are considered to have the wideband of frequencies if the analog audio signals have frequency components outside the range of 200 Hz to 3.4 kHz. For instance, the wideband of frequencies may encompass a frequency range from 50 Hz to 7 kHz, as opposed to the narrowband range of 200 Hz to 3.4 kHz. Typically, analog audio signals having the wideband of frequencies are reproduced into higher quality audio sounds (for instance, higher definition sounds) than sounds reproduced from analog audio signals having the narrowband of frequencies.
Analog audio signals produced by a telephone may have the narrowband of frequencies because of the characteristics of the audio sounds and/or the telephone generating the analog audio sounds. For example, audio sounds detected by a telephone may have no frequency components outside the narrowband of frequencies, and thus the telephone may generate analog audio signals having the narrowband of frequencies only. Alternatively, while audio sounds detected by a telephone device may have frequency components outside the narrowband of frequencies, the telephone device detecting the audio sounds may not be capable of generating analog audio signals having frequency components outside the narrowband of frequencies and thus generate analog audio signals having no frequency components outside the narrowband of frequencies.
As the popularity of wideband audio data increases, it is desirable to have the wideband audio services made available through VoIP devices. However, such desire could not be efficiently met because a mechanism for efficiently assigning broadband connections among multiple telephone devices connected to a VoIP device based on, for instance, whether there are wideband analog audio input signals to the VoIP device from a telephone in the first place has not been made available.